Barrow fire chief charged with cable theft

Posted: Saturday, July 10, 2010

By Merritt Melancon

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation on Thursday arrested newly hired Barrow County Fire and Emergency Chief Donald Towne and charged him with one count of theft by taking for allegedly stealing cable television service.

The charge stems from a seven-month investigation into financial irregularities in the City of Cairo Utilities Department, according to a statement issued by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation on Friday afternoon.

GBI agents believe that Towne and his relatives used their connections to receive cable TV service without being billed for it, said Steve Turner, special agent in charge of the GBI's Thomasville Office.

Towne, 40, formerly worked as fire chief for the city of Cairo but left the city job a few months ago.

He was arrested Thursday afternoon in Cairo along with Tiffany Fowler, 30; James Wingham, 68; Christine Tuning, 30; and Allan Womble, 29, according to the news release. Fowler is Towne's wife, and Wingham is Towne's father-in-law.

Fowler worked for Cairo Community Network Services. She manipulated the billing system so she and Towne and three other individuals could receive cable service without paying for it, Turner said.

Local law enforcement asked the Georgia Bureau of Investigation last winter to look into funds missing from the Cairo Utilities Department last winter. The investigation into the missing funds led to an audit of the billing system.

"We were initially asked to get involved with the case because of some financial irregularities inside the city of Cairo," Turner said. "This is just part of that investigation. Our investigation is continuing, but whether there's other charges or not, we'll just have to see."

Barrow County Commission Chairman Danny Yearwood did not return phone calls Friday. It is not clear if the arrest affects Towne's job with the county.

Barrow County commissioners voted May 25 to offer the job to Towne. He agreed to a salary of $63,000 a year.

The county had been without a permanent emergency services chief since October, when Mark Melvin resigned after only seven months to take an assistant chief's job in Oconee County.

Commissioners created the Emergency Services Department in June 2009 when they consolidated the fire, emergency management, EMS and 911 communications departments to try to save money.